BEET SUGAR. 179 



any land which will produce any other good field crop. A 

 great many farmers who thought that early planting would 

 be injurious to sugar beets, have been convinced of their 

 mistake, and in planting the crop another year, it should be 

 the great aim of every farmer to have the sugar beets planted 

 early enough that the leaves cover the ground by the fourth 

 of July, that no more work has to be done on them, which 

 will ensure a good and early crop and give the farmer ample 

 time to attend to his hay crop. 



When farmers entered into the enterprize this year, they 

 did so with a great deal of good will but with no experience, 

 and no very great result could be expected ; the general 

 opinion expressed by farmers is to benefit by their experience 

 for another year. Though the result has fallen short of the 

 expectation, the fact that good beet crops have been raised 

 after fields had been given up and partly ploughed up, 

 shows that with proper care, and under ordinary favorable 

 circumstances, Aroostook county will prove one of the finest 

 beet growing districts in the world. As everything was a 

 trial, and new, hardly any machinery has been used ; while 

 it is but reasonable to expect as the cultivation of sugar beets 

 is carried on on a larger scale, machinery will be almost ex- 

 clusively used. Most parties appear to agree now that early 

 planting is essential to success, and that the European prin- 

 ciple considering the danger from too early planting, by far 

 less than from too late planting, is the correct one there as 

 well as here. 



The following account is from Geo. A. Parsons of Presque 



Isle : 



Three acres of sugar beets. Dr. 



Plowing twice.. $9.00 



Harrowino- and smoothino; 2.25 



Marking 00 



Planting, 1 J days 1.50 



Thinning, 12 days ... 9.00 



Weeding by hand 4.50 



Horse hoeing 4.00 



